heave all hundred men pulled her up the
muddy bank to solid ground (below).
For most of the next 20 miles to the border,
the road was a rain-saturated nightmare of
slides, washouts, and crumbling bridges. At
the frontier there was no guard post on either
side, and we probed through tall grass to find
what was left of the swamp-lined road.
Tortuga Boards a Ship for Home
At Atapupu, after the familiar checking
in with the authorities, we learned that no
ship had called for three months. But the
Karawatu, bound for Java, was due within
the week.
Four days later we sailed past the reef to
where the Karawatu was anchored a mile
from shore. Like a mother cat lifting her kit
ten, the ship's crane plucked Tortuga from
the sea and deposited her amid laughing sol
diers, startled mothers, crying babies, cocka
toos, parrots, and monkeys.
Safely aboard after months of storms, reefs,
currents, swollen rivers, and broken bridges,
Tortuga's crew suffered its only casualty. As
Dinah, still dizzy from the loading, scrambled
from the Jeep, she was attacked by a striped
blur on a string. In disgust she shook a small
pig from her tail and retreated to the security
of our cabin.
THE END
KODACHROME() NATIONAL GEOGRAPHICSOCIETY